Why confidence is returning to Aussie job market

Workforce confidence is making a comeback, with job ads climbing again and feelings of job security at their highest level of 2020.

New SEEK data revealed there were 26 per cent more job listings in the first fortnight of May compared to the April average, when the market felt the full force of COVID-19 business shut downs.

Job listings were up in every state and territory, led by South Australia and Tasmania (36 per cent increase) then Queensland (35 per cent), Victoria (29 per cent), Northern Territory (28 per cent), Western Australia (27 per cent), New South Wales (21 per cent) and Australian Capital Territory (14 per cent).

SEEK’s Kendra Banks said there was still a long road ahead for the job market. Picture: Supplied

SEEK Australia and New Zealand managing director Kendra Banks said Australia was beginning its long road to recovery.

"We are using April as a baseline as we hope this is the low point for job ad numbers and we can use this as a comparison for how the employment market is progressing," she said.

"It is important to remember that these figures are a long way shy of the pre-COVID volumes and there is a long road ahead."

SEEK research also revealed confidence was growing among workers and jobseekers, with 67 per cent feeling secure in their current job and 64 per cent feeling optimistic about their future employment prospects.

Both figures were at their highest levels of the year, even slightly ahead of January (66 per cent and 62 per cent, respectively) before the coronavirus reached Australia.

Meanwhile, new LinkedIn research showed workforce confidence among Australian professionals had risen to +18 at the beginning of May on a scale of -100 to +100, up 10 points from the beginning of April.

Aussies looking for work were slowly becoming more optimistic. Picture: iStock

Those in the finance industry were most optimistic (+38), followed by engineering (+24) and IT (+23).

Even active jobseekers were more confident than before, although still not feeling positive - polling at an even 0 on the scale, but up from -9 a month earlier.

LinkedIn Australia country manager Matt Tindale said it was promising to see confidence levels starting to trend upward.

"May has presented a silver lining to workers and jobseekers, as Australia cautiously reopens and the economy begins to recover from what has been an uncertain and difficult time," he said.

"We hope this will continue to improve throughout the next few months."